Tylenol Dosage: Tylenol Side Effects

Tylenol dosage can be confusing as it may change depending on whether you are treating pain, fever or headaches. The generic name is acetominophen.

Unlike ibuprofen, it is not one of the NSAIDs or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. They are considered a separate class of drugs from steroids as they have a different mechanism of action on inflammation than steroids, and have less side effects in general. They effectively work in many parts of the body to reduce and even stop inflammation and also effect parts of the brain releasing factors that cause inflammation.

Tylenol on the other hand is not an anti-inflammatory, but is a pain killer and reduces fever. It also does not cause Reye Syndrome which is why it is a good choice for children. Reye Syndrome can occur rarely in children who are exposed to aspirin when they have a fever.

Because it is such a good pain reliever, many people will use it to treat migraine headache symptoms that are not severe or disabling.

What Is My Tylenol Dosage?

Dosage can depend on several factors. First of all, if you are generally healthy, you may follow the instructions on the package for dosing. Over the counter tablets and capsules are 500mg each. The amounts are as follows:

Adults: 500-1000mg (1-2 doses)every 6 hours as needed for pain, max 4000mg/day.
Children age 2-12: 10-15mg/kg of weight every 6 hours as needed for pain or fever. A kilogram is 2.2 lbs so a 50lb child could have 320 mg every 6 hours, with a daily maximum of 1200mg for this weight. It is best to use the liquid form for children. Do not treat pain for more than 5 days or a fever for more that 3 days without calling a doctor. This is for both children and adults.
Children under age 2: Children this age should not have any medications without the supervision of a pediatrician.

Acetominophen can take 20-30 minutes to start having an effect and the peak effect occurs at about 2 hours after tylenol dosage.

If you have a history of headaches or migraine, do not take any over the counter pain medication more than twice a week for headaches. More frequent use can lead to analgesic rebound headaches. The "sinus" formulation may have pseudofed in it which over time can increase blood pressure, cause insomnia and worsen headache profiles.

Although tylenol dosage is generally safe, there are conditions where it should not be used. If you are concerned you can read more about this and tylenol side effects.